Assembly AU Dec 490-516 (XXII) _E

Assembly/AU/Dec.496(XXII)Page 1DECISION ON THE ADOPTION AND IMPLEMENTATION OFTHE 2050 AFRICA’S INTEGRATED MARITIME STRATEGY(2050 AIM STRATEGY)Doc. Assembly/AU/16(XXII) Add.1The Assembly,1. REITERATES the geostrategic importance of seas and oceans in the socioeconomicdevelopment of Africa;2. RECALLS the Declaration of the Fiftieth (50th) Anniversary of the OAU/AU inwhich the Heads of State and Government expressed their commitment topreserve, protect and use oceanic spaces and resources to the benefit theAfrican continent and its populations with a view to achieving sustainable foodsecurity;3. ALSO RECALLS the decision Assembly/AU/Dec.252 (XIII) adopted by theThirteenth Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the Union held in July 2009 inSirte (Libya) and in which the Assembly expressed serious concern at thegrowing insecurity in the African maritime space, and welcomed the initiativestaken by the Commission to develop a comprehensive and coherent strategyto handle the challenges and opportunities related to the maritime area ofAfrica;4. FURTHER RECALLS the decision of the Fifteenth Ordinary Session of theAssembly held in July 2010 in Kampala (Uganda) [DecisionAssembly/AU/Dec.294 (XV) ] by which the Assembly reaffirmed its support forefforts to this effect by the Commission, including the development of anIntegrated Maritime Management Strategy for the continent;5. FINALLY RECALLS the Communiqué of the 387 th Session of the Ministerialmeeting of the AU Peace and Security Council which held on 29 th July 2013 inAddis Ababa, by which the Council endorsed the Solemn Declaration onMaritime Safety and Security proclaimed at the Yaounde (Cameroon) Summitof 24 to 25 June 2013 by Heads of State and Government of the EconomicCommunity of West African States (ECOWAS), the Economic Community ofCentral African States (ECCAS) and the Gulf of Guinea Commission (GGC)and dubbed the Blue/Ocean Economy, in the 2050 AIM Strategy andconceived therein as the "new frontier of African Renaissance";6. ENDORSES the Addis Ababa Declaration adopted on 6 December 2012 atthe Second Conference of African Ministers in charge of Maritime-relatedAffairs, in which the Ministers adopted the 2050 AIM Strategy and its Plan ofAction7. RECOGNIZES that Africa’s oceans and seas are essential to the sustainabledevelopment of the Continent and that they occupy a critical position within thePost-2015 Development Agenda and the formulation of the SustainableDevelopment Goals (SDGs) ;